Can Hay Cause Laminitis

Bacterial viral plant chemical and fungal toxins have all been implicated in causing laminitis.

Can hay cause laminitis.

Laminitis is quite unlike any other equine disease. Old hay is however likely to have lower levels of the fat soluble vitamins a d and e and horses on a hay only diet no grass will usually need to have vitamin e supplemented. Treatment of the initiating cause must be accomplished before improvement in laminitis can be expected. Free choice hay is usually the best place to start along with a vitamin mineral and protein supplement that matches your hay.

Watch horses that are suffering from fever diarrhoea colic particularly after surgery pneumonia pleurisy and retained placenta. The causes vary and may include the following. A case of acute laminitis in horses may take several days to weeks to respond. Your horse is in good body condition.

If the horse is overweight but developed laminitis from a cause other than insulin resistance you can still use the insulin resistance diet guidelines below or implement the tips in our lean cuisine article. She is doing well on the grass alfalfa mix hay you are currently feeding. This can all occur before any symptoms are apparent and once the process has started it is extremely difficult to stop. While the exact mechanisms by which the feet are damaged remain a mystery certain precipitating events can produce laminitis.

The laminitic horse should feed only grass hay during the acute phase and if the horse is overweight it should be placed on a reduced diet thereafter. Black walnut shavings in contact with the horse or sweet alyssum in the hay can cause laminitis mechanism unknown. Barbaro shattered a leg in the 2006 preakness stakes ending his racing career and eventually his life. If a horse has a history of chronic laminitis my first concern would be addressing the metabolic issues contributing to the problem usually obesity and or pituitary dysfunction both of which.

Although laminitis occurs in the feet the underlying cause is often a disturbance elsewhere in the horse s body. This is what struck down the 2006 kentucky derby winner barbaro in early 2007. A variety of medications to treat the acute and refractory forms have been.